Keeper retainer for gun-slings



Mmh 3, 1936. G, N, ALBREE 2,032,342

KEEPER RETAINER FOR GUN SLINGS Filed June 15, 1955 F 9 2 Fig.9. n

I; lnvenTor.

George Norman Albree WMMI/W Aflys.

Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a keeper retainer for gun-slings and the object of the invention is to provide a novel retainer which is attached to the sling and by which the keeper can be securely locked against slipping out of place after the upper loop of the keeper has been adjusted tightly about the arm of the rifieman.

The keeper with which a gun-sling is provided is supposed to hold the upper loop of the sling in tight clamping engagement with the arm of the rifleman, but it is a known fact that as a gun is being used the keeper tends to slip on the sling thus loosening the upper or armreceiving loop of the sling, with the result that the sling slips out of place and fails in its function of assisting in holding the gun steady.

My improved keeper retainer serves to lock the keeper securely in position and prevents any slipping movement thereof so that the upper loop of the sling will retain its tight clamping engagement with the arm of the gunner.

Said keeper retainer is attached to the sling, is situated between the two legs of the sling forward of the loop and the keeper and is adapted to be adjusted or moved on the sling into wedging engagement with the legs of the sling at the point where they pass through the keeper, thereby locking the keeper from sliding movement on the sling.

' body and is mounted on the sling so that the thin edge of the body is directed toward the keeper.

The retainer can be easily and quickly adjusted into its locking position after the keeper has been moved into its operative position and can be as easily and quickly moved into an inoperative position when it is desired to loosen the loop for withdrawing the arm therefrom.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating my invention used by a marksman firing from the prone position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a gun-sling showing the retainer in its operative keeper-locking position.

Fig. 3 is a View partly in section showing the retainer applied to the gun-sling in its free-running position.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the retainer in its operative locking position.

The keeper retainer preferably has a cuneiform Fig. 5 is a side view of the retainer with the runners or guides omitted.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the retainer on the line 15-45, Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an edge view of a different embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a retainer member having positioning ribs on its side edges for positioning the runners.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view extending transversely of the ribs and showing a portion of a keeper positioned thereby.

Referring to Fig. 1 which shows my improved keeper retainer in use by a marksman firing from the prone position, I indicates the marksman, 2 the gun with which he is shooting and 3 the usual gun-sling which is provided with the upper or arm-receiving loop 4 adapted to receive the arm 5 of the marksman. These gun-slings are universally provided with a so-called keeper 6 which is slidably mounted on the two legs 1, 8 of the sling and which is supposed to clamp the loop firmly about the marksmans arm 5 after the loop has been adjusted into the proper position. 25

As stated above the present invention relates to a keeper retainer which is designed to lock or hold the keeper in its adjusted position to prevent the keeper from slipping forwardly on the legs 'I, 8 extending from the loop 4. The improved retainer is indicated generally at 9 and it is provided with a cuneiform body I0 which preferably is of a material having a high coefficient of friction with the material of the sling and which is situated between the legs 1,. 8 of the sling and on the outside of the keeper with the thin edge of the body portion directed toward the keeper as shown in Fig. 3. This cuneiform body is attached to the legs 1, 8 so that the retainer can slide back and forth on the legs toward and from the keeper 6. For this purpose the retainer is formed with two runner members I I, I2 which embrace the legs 1, 8 of the sling, said runners H, I2 forming with the sides of the retainer passages or openings l3 through which the legs extend. The runners I I, I2 may be made in any appropriate way and as herein shown each is made from a length of wire which is bent to form the two arm portions I 4 and the inwardly-directed terminal portions l5 that are received in recesses I 6 with which the body mem-- ber I0 is provided. The recess or aperture I6 is preferably made somewhat elongated as shown best in Fig. 3, there being such a recess H5 in each side face of the body ID. The elongated shape of '55 each recess I6 accommodates the. inwardly-directed ends l of both of the runners ll, I2.

While the body ID of the retainer has a general wedge shape, yet, if desired, the side faces I! may be made very slightly concave as shown in Fig. 3. The rear end 18 of the body is made somewhat bluntly tapered.

The side faces or side edges of the retainer are preferably made somewhat raised along their medium lines, the highest portion of each side edge being at the point where the recess I6 is located. With this construction each side edge will present a ridge IQ of progressively decreasing height extending from the recess Hi to the thin edge. 25 of the retainer in one direction and to the opposite end in the other direction as is best seen in Fig. 5. The body of the retainer may be made of any suitable'material having a relatively high coefficient of friction with the material of the sling. Preferably, however, the retainer is made of rubber or rubber composition, as a retainer of this material provides the desired high coefficient of friction and at the same time is sufliciently flexible so that it can be easily manipulated.

When the sling is to be adjusted the marksman will place his arm through the upper loop 4 and position the loop properly on the arm, and the keeper 6 will then be slid forwardly on the legs I, 8 of the sling to tighten the loop 4 about the arm as usual. The retainer 9 is then moved forwardly on the legs 1, B to cause the thin end thereof to enter the keeper and as the retainer is forced into its operative position shown in Fig. 2 the wedge shape thereof clamps the legs 1,, 8 of the sling firmly against the inner walls of the keeper thereby locking the keeper in position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As stated above the retainer 9 will preferably be made of material having a relatively high coefiicient of friction with the material of the sling and when the wedge-shaped retainer has been forced home into its operative position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the friction between the retainer and the legs of the sling serve to hold the retainer in position and prevent it from moving backwardly. This frictional engagement of the retainer with the legs I, 8 of the sling is increased or augmented by the tension which is applied to the front portion of the sling and the upper loop 4, such tension serving to cause the legs 1, 8 to hug the sides of the retainer tightly.

The ridges [9 on the edges of the retainer tend to expand the keeper in the lengthwise direction thereof- This is an advantage especially in the case of a keeper which has seen a great deal of service and which has become somewhat stretched. The wedge shape of the retainer not only tends to expand the keeper transversely and thus produce the wedging action above referred to, but the ridges I9 tend to elongate the keeper somewhat thus augmenting the binding action of the wedge-shaped retainer.

If the retainer is made of rubber or rubber composition capable of being compressed somewhat then when said retainer is forced into its operative position shown in Fig. 4 the pressure on the side faces thereof tends to compress the body portion l0 somewhat in a transverse. direction so that said body portion will tend to assume the shape shown in Fig. 4 which results from the fact that the portion of said body 10 which is within the keeper 6 is compressed somewhat transversely, while the portion of the retainer outside of the keeper has its normal transverse direction. This tends to give the keeper the slightly indented shape shown at 23.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a slightly different construction for the retainer in which the side faces for the latter are provided with projections here- 5 in shown as tapering ribs 2| extending from one side to the other. The outer surfaces of these ribs form auxiliary wedging surfaces which augment the general wedging effect of the wedgeshaped body It. These ribs 2| are so formed 10 that their front faces are inclined while the rear faces extend in a transverse direction. A retainer having this construction can be readily forced into operative position but the presence of the ribs assist in holding the retainer in position 15 and prevent it from any backward slipping movement. The wedge-shaped ribs are shown somewhat exaggerated in Fig. '7 in order to avoid confusion in the drawing.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown a different embodiment of the invention wherein the retainer is provided on its side edges with the transverse ribs 22 that serve to hold the runners II and I2 in their operative free-running position. There are two such ribs 22 on each'side edge of the body I0 and the two ribs on each side partially embrace the leg I4 of the runner and thus hold the runner in the operative position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

Where the retainer is made of rubber these positioning ribs 22 are sufficiently flexible so as to permit the runners to be folded together when the keeper is to be packed for shipment but when the retainer is in use the runners ll, I12 are in their open position shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6, 35 and 7, and the ribs 22 could hold the runners in such position and prevent them from being swung into a position which would bind on the legs 8, 9 of the sling,

The retainer can be easily and quickly moved into and out of operative position by simply grasping the side edges thereof between the thumb and forefinger and giving the retainer the required movement toward or from the keeper. The legs Id of the runners and the ribs 22 if the retainer is provided with such ribs, form excellent gripping portions for the thumb and finger thus making it possible for a marksman to move the retainer into and out of operative position accurately and quickly even with 50 gloved hands.

While I have herein illustrated some selected embodiments of the invention I do not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

I claim:

1. A keeper retainer for use with a gun-sling having a portion doubled on itself to form the usual arm-receiving loop and a keeper slidably mounted on the sling for varying the size of the loop, said keeper retainer having a cuneiform body situated between the two legs of the sling on the outside of the keeper with its thin edge directed toward the keeper and also having two runners embracing the two legs and slidably securing the retainer to said legs whereby said retainer may be wedged between the legs at the keeper to lock the latter in position. I

2. A keeper retainer for gun-slings, said retainer having a cuneiform body adapted to be received between the two legs of a gun-sling forward of the usual keeper and also having two runners embracing said legs and securing the retainer thereto for sliding movement thereon toward and from the keeper.

3. A keeper retainer for gun-slings, said. r 7

tainer having a cuneiform body adapted to be received between the two legs of the gun-sling forward of the usual keeper and also having two runners embracing said legs and securing the retainer thereto for sliding movement thereon toward and from the keeper, the faces of the retainer which engage the legs of the sling having projections thereon.

4. A keeper retainer for gun-slings, said retainer having a cuneiform body adapted to be received between the two legs of the gun-sling on the outside of the usual keeper and also having two runners embracing said legs and securing the retainer thereto for sliding movement thereon toward and from the keeper, the faces of the retainer of which engage the legs of the sling having ribs thereon extending from one side edge to the other.

5. A keeper retainer for gun-slings, said retainer having a cuneiform body adapted to be received between the two legs of the gun-sling 3 forward of the usual keeper and also having two runners embracing said legs and securing the retainer thereto for sliding movement thereon toward and from the keeper, said body having runner-positioning ribs on its edges by which the runners are retained in operative position.

6. A keeper retainer for use with a gun-sling having the usual upper loop to receive the arm of the marksman and a keeper through which the two legs of the'loop pass, said keeper retainer having a cuneiform body situated between the legs of the sling beyond the keeper and with the thin edge directed toward the keeper, and a runner carried by the body and embracing one of the legs, said runner forming with the body an enclosed guiding opening through which said leg extends and slidably securing the retainer to the leg whereby said retainer may be wedged between the legs at the keeper to lock the latter in position.

GEORGE NORMAN All-BREE. 

